Last Regret
by Mysca
Summary: Ivan debates with himself whether he should tell Raguna about his true identity or not. But he wonders if he would regret it or not. Ivan's POV.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rune Factory.

**Summary: **Ivan debates with himself whether he should tell Raguna about his true identity or not. But he wonders if he would regret it or not.

**Rating**: K+

**Characters/Pairings:** Ivan. Hinted Bianca/Raguna

**...xxx...**

_Should I tell him? After all, it has only been a year, he could still come back. But the king would always look for him, even if another heir came by, he would still look for his 'firstborn'. His 'true heir'. He loved him, like the first toy that was ever given to you by your parent or a gift that you treasure, that was how father loved him, not like how he ever treated me._

"Ivan?"

I looked up to the tall figure. He was a lean guy but most knew that he was a skilled fighter. He could have been thought of as 'perfect', a great farmer, a great blacksmith, a great rancher. And best of all was his amnesia that was thought of as a plus to those who wanted to marry off their daughters to the rich farmer, no parents to deal with and they knew him by his present self and they had nothing to worry about.

I smile casually at him, I was jealous for many reasons but I knew that as long as I kept quiet, he wouldn't know who he really was.

"What would it be today, Raguna?"

"Well, I've been thinking that I should probably settle down and get a wife since it seems that all is peaceful now."

It was true; it was now peaceful in the small village of Kardia. Never would they have to worry about the Sech Empire or its monster-creating machines again, or maybe that would just be a hasty generalization.

But you could not deny that the possibility was small, the attack of the Sech Empire was stopped by a single man, a man with no memories and was merely a farmer. It must have been a laughing stock when the news reached the city, even the general or lieutenant or whatever rank she was, now lived in Kardia, truly ironic.

"So I guess that means that you'll be getting a double bed then?" I winked at him with a smirk, hidden under that facade was relief, he would now have a reason why he shouldn't leave, and I hoped that the girl would be a stubborn local who had absolutely no intention of ever leaving the village.

He blushed a bit and just nodded politely. I wondered if he was that like that before he lost his memories. Despite being his half-brother, which I only recently found out about, I've never met him. The excuse from our father, or the king of the Nomad kingdom, was that his heir was too busy learning to become a fit ruler while he let me travel the world as a trader.

It was a pleasant way to treat the illegitimate firstborn, that's right, I was an unwanted child, the child of a peasant and a royal. My mother died due to my birth and my father 'took care' of me, as in, he made me a secret child, one that no one knew of except for the queen, the midwife and of course, himself. The queen was kind to me and treated me like a son but I was always known to be her adopted nephew, the main family line could not adopt sons or daughters that would soon become heirs, but nieces and nephews were allowed, strangely.

I've heard many stories of my brother, how he was a quick learner and how admired he was, even when I had the chance to look at him during festivals, I never did, I was always away on travels to avoid seeing his face, I was angry that he was loved and I wasn't at least not by the person who brought me to this world.

And after many years of evading the prince, I was called into court by the king.

"_What is it, your highness? It's rare for you to ever call for your...nephew."_

"_Ivan. This is urgent. The prince...no your brother...he's gone missing. It is suspected that he could have drifted off somewhere, his enemy was known to be a powerful monster that ate up other people's pasts and perhaps-"_

"_What? He lost his memories or something? What would that have to do with me? I haven't even met him once. And why are you calling me his brother? I am your nephew, your queen's adopted nephew to be accurate."_

"_Ivan! This is serious! The heir...!"_

"_If you really cared about the Nomad kingdom, you-"_

"_Ivan! Stop it!"_

"_...Your majesty...?"_

_A beautiful woman appeared before us, it was the queen of the Nomad kingdom._

"_Raguna...you're the only one who can find him..."_

Raguna. That was the name of the prince. That was also the name of the person who often talked to me on Holidays in the village of Kardia. They were one and the same but I didn't dare tell him that.

"Thanks Ivan, you've always helped me since Day 1!"

I chuckled at that. That was when he was a complete stranger to me. When I had heard that he had lost his memories, I begun to speculate that he was indeed the prince, noting the resemblance that we had. After he defeated the Sech Empire's dragon, I had no doubt in my mind that he was the one I had been looking for.

"Ha ha, part of the job."

"Well, I should be going then, I still need to tend to my crops in the caves so see you!"

It then struck me that even without a girl, Raguna wouldn't leave this place. It was his home, it was where he belonged, or was it?

"Wait!"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like Kardia?"

He had a confused look on his face, probably because the answer was obvious.

"Well I do, in fact, I love Kardia, the people, my farm, this wonderful place...it has given me everything that I needed and even more than that. I may have lost my memories but Kardia has made me make irreplaceable and precious memories."

"If you regained your memory, would you like to go back to your town?"

He thought for a while then smiled. "I would but I think that this is the place where I belong."

"I see...well, Kardia must be happy to have someone like you who loves it so much."

I walked away without him noticing, or at least I thought I did, considering that he does have fast reflexes and all.

I sighed, it would be wrong not to tell Raguna the truth but couldn't I be a bit selfish? I was about to leave the land, and then I looked back.

"One year," I whispered.

One more year and then I'll tell both the king and Raguna the truth, I don't care if the king would think of me as incompetent, I don't care about him at all but this selfishness would let me rest at least a bit.

"Raguna," I murmured. Maybe having a brother was not that bad after all.

**...xxx...**

It had been 10 months since then. I thought of finally reporting in

"Ivan! Any news? It's been two years and a half already!"

I frowned at the king but spoke calmly.

"None, my king. I have begun to speculate on a certain lad but I would need some time before I can confirm that he is indeed, the prince."

The king looked doubtful, but his eyes seemed to look a bit less gloomy. I bit my lip, guilt with this man was something I rarely felt, I was doing something wrong and dishonest and I knew it.

"Ivan...if he is indeed your brother...tell him about your travels."

I raised a brow.

"What?"

"Tell him about what it's like to travel the world. Since he was a boy, he wanted to meet you, he wanted to know about your experiences in different countries and kingdoms and nations. He asked me every time it was his birthday if he could meet you. I never agreed until three years ago. I told him that when he returned from his quest, I would arrange a meeting for the two of you...Ivan, I know that it's my fault that you have been evading your brother all these years, but if that boy is your brother, could you give him a chance? Even if he doesn't know you at all?"

It hit me like an arrow through my conscience. I didn't look up; I could not face him, not with what I did.

I realized that that was what the queen meant that only I could find him, it was not that I was the only one that could find him but they wanted me to be the one to find him.

I wanted to hit myself for being such a brat. But that would have been unacceptable.

"I will try my best, your highness."

...xxx...

I hurriedly went back to Kardia, I had not been there for a month due to news of the Sech Empire being brought down, and I wanted to sell my wares to the locals of my kingdom though they were mostly to replenish the resources.

I had entered the town as usual and waited for people to pass by but everyone seemed gloomy, so did the ever so cheerful children. They were not at the square or running about, it was so strange.

I went to the inn to ask of news and Lady Ann gave a sad smile.

"Welcome...Ivan..."

"Lady Ann...? What has happened? Why is..."

"Raguna..."

A surge of fear went through me. What happened to my brother?

"He...his farm was attacked by stray monsters and well he was attacked from behind while trying to protect Bianca and their child...and after the finishing blow to the monster, he...passed on."

I gasped in surprise. That couldn't be true, just last month, he happily told me that he was going to be a father really soon and what he was going to name his child and that he was going to teach him how to farm...that just couldn't be true.

"Bianca and the child moved to the city, it traumatized Bianca severely, she couldn't stop crying and the child...poor Kyle!"

It was a boy...I had a nephew...I was an uncle...

I ran to his farm, surely it was just a dream.

It was not, the fields were messed up as if a typhoon came over. The barns destroyed and so was the beautiful house that once stood there. I peered inside through the broken windows and saw that double bed tattered.

I was speechless. Memories of Raguna started to flood my mind and then I fell to my knees.

"I should have told him...I should have told him the truth...he died...not even knowing that his brother was here all along..."

I choked. Tears were caught in my throat, I haven't cried for a long time. It had been so long that I can't even remember it.

A tear rolled down my cheek and screamed inwardly.

Was this karma? When I had the chance, I couldn't care less and now when I cared...why?

Why did he have to take him away?

Why did I have to be such a selfish person?

Why was it not the unwanted one taken away?

Why did I only start to care now?

The rain started to pour and I was drenched, I used to care about getting wet but now I don't because of him.

"_Aren't you going to run for shelter, Raguna?"_

"_Well...you see, sometimes the sky knows what you feel and it helps you let it out and nobody will notice. That's why I like the rain, even for a short while, I can let it all out." _

**...xxx...**

**A/N**: I've always wondered why Raguna didn't go back if Ivan figured out that he was his brother/the prince, this is simply one of my many theories (I have several) about what happened after the game ended.

**EDIT :: NOTICE:** This now has a sequel(kind of) called "Three years". Check it out if you're interested =)


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